Boat



J. K. TANK July 10, 1962 BOAT 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 7, 1960 ill. A.

INVENTOR JZ/M/ A4 ZA /we BY FM ATTORNEKS J. K. TANK July 10, 1962 BOAT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 7, 1960 INVENTOR a fi /z 7 ATToRNs type.

United rates Patent 3,043,260 BQAT John K. Tank, 2514 C St, Eureka, Calif. Filed Oct. 7, 1960, Ser. No. 61,213

5 Claims. (Cl. 1156.1)

may be grasped from any convenient locality by a swim-' mer or diver.

An additional object of the invention is the provision of such a boat provided with a completely encased motor which is power driven, which motor may be either controlled by a swimmer or diver under water from the rear of the boat, or from the sides of the boat by an individual lying prone thereon or seated on the forward deck.

A further object of the invention is the provision of such a boat divided into a plurality of watertight compartments, one or more of which contains the motor and gasoline tank, the latter being preferably separated from the former by a bulk head, and another of which com- 7 prises a storage compartment, while the additional compartments in the craft are substantially watertight to insure against leakage in the event that one or more compartments spring a leak.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a boat of this character which is sturdy and durable in construction, reliable and eflicient in operation, simple and easy to manipulate and handle, and relatively inexpensive to manufacture, assemble, and utilize.

Still other objects reside in the combinations ofelements, arrangements of parts, and features of construction, all as will be more fully pointed out hereinafter, and disclosed in the accompanying drawing where there is shown a preferred embodiment of this inventive concept.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top perspective view of one form of boat incorporating elements of the instant invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side view partially in elevation and partially in section taken substantially along the line 2-2 of FIG. 1 as viewed in the direction indicated by the arrows; and

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along the line 3-3 of FIG. 1 as viewed inthe direction indicated by the arrows.

Similar reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, the boat of the instant invention is generally indicated at 10 and comprises basically a metal hull 11 in the form of a metal tubing frame covered with aluminum screen provided with a fiberglass skin 12. The hull is completely enclosed by a metal top deck 13 with a fiberglass skin '14. A Watertight bulkhead 15 defines a forward compartment 16, which is provided with a hatch 17 which closes an opening 18 in the deck, the hatch being pivotally mounted as at 19, and provided with a latch 20 of any desired conventional The boat is divided into five watertight compartments, the second compartment 21 being defined by the bulkhead 15 and a second bulkhead 22, the bulkhead 22 in turn defining the forward limits of a second watertight compartment 23 which is closed toward the stern by a bulkhead 24. Watertight compartments 21 and 23 are completely enclosed, and access is provided thereto ice through inspection apertures which are closed by plugs 25 and 26, respectively.

The bulkhead 24 defines the forward extremity of a compartment 27 whiohis separated by a bulkhead 28 from the stern compartment 29. Compartment 27 contains a fuel tank 30, which is fixedly secured in any desired manner beneath an opening 31 in the deck 14 and 13, which is closed by hatch 32. Hatch 32 has anopening adjacent one end through which projects the spout 33 of the filling tank, which is normally closed by a cap 34. The cap 34 is provided with a conventional pressure relief valve (not shown).

Hatch 32 also extends over an opening 35, which covers a carburetor 36, which is provided with an air intake tube 37 which extends through a gasket 38 in hatch cover 32 into a plastic dome 39 provided with apertures 40. The carburetor is of conventional design, and includes a fuel pump 41 which draws fuel through a line 42 from the tank 30, the fuel pump being driven from the engine crank case pressure in a known manner.

Gas tank 30 is provided with a check valve 43 from which a tube 42 extends through a spark arrester 81 to a carburetor 30. A second tube 44 extends in watertight relation through the bulkhead 28 from the motor crank case (to be described hereinafter) to the top of gas tank 30. The gas tank is thus pressurized so that there is no chance of the entry of water in the event that the boat upsets, or in the case of high waves or the like.

The manifold from the carburetor is provided with a flange 45 which bolts to one side of partition 28, and communicates with the manifold tube 46 which is flanged as at 47 and bolted to the opposite side of bulkhead 28, the manifold tube 46 extending to a conventional outboard type motor generally indicated at 50. The motor 50 includes a crank case 51, to which the line 44 extends, and is, illustratively, of the two cylinder type, comprising a block 52 provided with the usual spark plugs 53. A conventional starter assembly 54 is mounted on the fly Wheel 55 and an exhaust passage 56 opens through the bottom of the boat to an exhaust outlet 57 which is closed by a flapper valve 58. The valve is biased toward closed position by a coil spring 59 which is held by a bracket 60. Engine 50 is mounted on an aluminum engine mounting plate 61 which is suitably bolted or otherwise secured to the underside of the boat, and is provided with a water pump 62 which has an intake 63 which extends through a suitable opening in the bottom of the boat, and is provided with an intake screen 64 located immediately forwardly of the propeller strut 65 which depends from the underside of the boat, and has extending therefrom a propeller shaft 66 which carries a propeller 67, which is driven in conventional manner by the motor 50. The usual clutch 68 is also provided for engaging and disengaging the propeller drive mechanism.

A water discharge outlet 69 is also provided having an internal concentric exhaust pressure relief tube 69a attached to the exhaust passage 56, and extends through the hull of the boat at a point adjacent the stem, the outlet being comprised of a pair of concentric tubes, the outermost of which is for the discharge of water, giving the operator .a visible indication as to whether the motor is receiving sufiicient water for cooling.

Starter mechanism 54 extends through an opening 70 in the deck, the opening being closed by a hatch cover 71 which is provided with a dome 72 encompassing the starter mechanism- An outlet 73 is provided for the starter mechanism rope whichincludesa ball and socket seat arrangement 74 to preclude the entrance of water.

The boat is surrounded adjacent its upper deck by a handrail 75 which is secured to suitable struts 76 at spaced intervals about the hull, so. that a swimmer or diver may conveniently grasp the rail from any position adjacent the boat. Normally control is effected from the stern by means'of a hand throttle 77, which is spring biased as by means of a spring 78 to neutral or idling position. ,The hand throttle is in convenient position to be controlled by' a swimmer or diver hanging from the stern of the boat in the water. ;A throttlecontrol cable 79 extends to the throttle 80 of thecarbureton'itjbeing' here noted that the carburetoris also providedwith a spark arrester 81 to minimize the danger of explosion. A suitable choke button 82 is also provided to facilitate starting of the motor adjacent the throttle 77 and is connected to}: control cable 82 which extends to the choke 83 of the carburetor.

In order to prevent the possible entanglement of the swimmer with the propeller blades a skid'bar 85 is secured to the underside of the hull, and extends beneath and around the propeller 67. Further protection may be afiorded bymeans of a conventional propeller shroud (not shown) which is adapted to be secured to studs 86 which extend from ,the underside of' the stern of' the boat. 1. Y

Astopi button 90 is provided on the hatch cover 72 adjacent'the stern so that' a swimmer may cutofi the motor whenever desired, and is connected by cable 91 to the motor ignition for the purpose of grounding the same.

j Additional o'naarbi rh' bo tma'y be efiectedby an operatorriding the boat andis, provided by a hand throttle 92, cut ofi switch'92, and chokefbutton 93 substantially identical to the throttle 77, cut off switch 90,

V and choke button 82 and are positionedon the left hand side of the boat adjacent the bow hatch 17, or in any other convenientlocality where it may be readily accessible to a rider of the boat. :The throttle 92 controls the carburetor throttle 80 through a, suitable cable 94. V

A conventional mercury switch 95 is provided in the ignition circuit of the engine and is adapted to break the circuit should the .boat be swamped, or otherwise overturned. e

The stern compartment 29 is'double walled by means ofa bulk head 96a which provides an air space between the stern 96 as well as between the side walls 97 .oithe rear compartment'in order to prevent flooding of the engine if this particular compartmentis ruptured.

' From the foregoing it will now be seen that there is .herein'provided an improved boat which accomplishes all the objects of this invention, and others, including many advantages. of great practical utilityand commercialimportance. I I Q v I 7 As many embodiments may be made of this inventive concephand as many modifications may be made in the embodiment hereinbefore shown and described, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to beinterpreted merely as illustrative, and not in a limiting sense. I clm'm:

3 ,1; In a boat construction, a watertight hull divided'into a plurality of longitudinally spaced compartments by into a plurality of longitudinally spaced compartments by watertight bulk heads, a deck covering said hull, a vertically mounted motor inthe rearmost one of said compartments, a carburator and gas tank in a separate compartment, a spaced external railcompletely surrounding said hull immediately below said deck, motor and carburator controlspositioned on said boat adjacent said rail at the stern of said boat for access by a diver or swimmer in the water astern of said boat, and a duplicate set of controls adjacent the bow of said boat for access by a. rider on said deck, said controls including a throttle and spring biased means normally urging said throttle to idling position. I V

3. In a boat construction, @a watertight hull divided into a plurality of longitudinally spaced compartments by watertight bulk heads, a deck covering said hull, a vertically mounted motor in the rearmost one of said compartments, a carhurator and gas tank in a separatecompartment, a spaced externalrail completely surrounding said hull immediately below said deck, motor! and carburator controls positioned ,on said boat adjacent said rail at the stern of said boatfor access by a diver or swimmer in the water astern of said boat, a duplicateset of controls adjacent-the bow of said boat for access by a rider on saiddeck, said controls including a throttle and spring biased means normally urging said throttle to idling position, and a choke. r v V 4. In a boat construction, a watertight hull divided into a plurality of longitudinally spared compartments by Watertight bulk heads, a deck. covering said hull, a vertically mounted motor in the rearmost one of said compartments, a carburator and gas tank in a separate compartment, a spaced external rail completely surrounding said hull immediately below said deck, motor and carburator controls positioned on said boat adjacent said rail at the stern oi said boat for access by a diver or swimmer in the water astern of said boat, a duplicate set of controls adjacent the bow of said'boat for access by a rider on said deck, said controls including a throttle and spring biased T means normally urging said throttle to idling position, a choke, and a motor cut-ofi? switch. 7

5. In a boat construction, a watertight hull divided into a plurality. of longitudinally spaced compartments by watertightbulk heads, a deck covering said hull, a vertically mounted motor in the rearmost one of said compartments, a carburetor and gas tank in a separate compartment, a spaced .eXternal rail completely'surrounding said hull immediately below said deck, motor and Calblll'ator controls positioned on said boat adjacent said rail at the stern of said boat for access by a diver or swimmer 1n the water astern of said boat, a duplicate set of controls ad acent the bow of said boat for access by a rider on said deck, said controlsincluding a throttle and spring watertight bulk he ds, a deck coyering'said'hull, a vertically mounted motorin the rearmost one of said comfpartment s, a. carburator and gasftank in a separate compartment,a spaced external rail completely' surrounding said hull immediately below said deck, motor andcarburator controlspositioned on said boat adjacent said railat the stern ofsaid boat foraccess by a diver or 3 biased means normally urging said throttle to idling position, a choke, a motor cut-01f switch, and'an internally mounted mercury switchoperable to cut oif said'motor upon overturning of said boat. 1 g

References Cited the file of this patent UNITED S T S PATENTS 1,579,529 Haschke Apr. 6, 1926 2,478,042 Elling Aug. 2, 1949 2,708,759 'Strawn "Mar. 24, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 505,852 Great Britain May '17, 1939 500,944 

